Sunday Fishing
by Apapazukamori
Summary: Sorata spends a quiet afternoon with a pack of cards and a certain priestess he is enamoured of.


Sunday Fishing

"Weekend! Weekend!" Sorata jumped down the stairs from the second floor of the mansion, singing at the top of his lungs. "I'm at my wits' end~" Skidding into the kitchen, his socks sliding around on the polished floor, he tossed a pack of cards down on the kitchen table and kept on going toward the refrigerator. Inside, he was exceptionally pleased to uncover a whole sweet roll and the bottle of milk tea he'd bought earlier that week. Grabbing both, he kicked the fridge shut and headed over to the table and pulled up a chair. A quiet Sunday was quite possibly one of the best things out there, though no one would ever believe that the hyperactive Kansai monk ever actually enjoyed not being the center of attention. 

Today, it was just himself and his cards, and he could do whatever he pleased with both. The mansion was completely empty; Yuzuriha had dragged Kamui out for ice cream, quite forcefully really, and for a walk in the park. Had their situation been different, Sorata would have been only too happy trying to set them up. The perky inugami mistress seemed to be **the only** thing that poked through the perpetual little rain cloud that hung over Kamui's head. He wasn't sure where Arashi was, but he thought he'd heard her say something about visiting Hinoto. No matter how much Sorata loved Arashi, he'd be the first to tell her she worked too much. The girl had absolutely no idea how to have fun. 

Still singing loudly and in broken English, Sorata pulled the cards out of their box and shuffled them, testing their resilience and fortitude for the task ahead of them. Carefully, he began to stack them into a vaguely squared shape. Slowly and with great care, he added another square beside it; he arranged a third square in order to give the whole thing a stable foundation. Next, he worked on the second level, holding his breath while he placed the cards; Heaven forbid he should topple the whole thing by breathing on it wrong. 

The third level began to stand tall on top of the little card mansion, and Sorata felt a surge of pride as he lay the last card down on the top. He stepped back to admire his work and took a long drink from the bottle of tea. Wiping his mouth, he caught a glimpse of a knee-length black skirt and black hiking boots. He looked toward the door with a grin. "I built our dream house, 'nee-chan!" He crowed gleefully, watching the surprise and discomfort spread over her face. She nearly always reacted that way, there was something satisfying and familiar about it. Not that he liked teasing her, per se. But he did like it when her pretty face showed some kind of emotion. 

"How was the visit to the Princess?" Switch back to business. She probably had only come to talk to him about that anyway. 

Arashi regarded him coolly as she shook her head. "She wasn't feeling well." The priestess from Ise frowned. "It seems to be happening more and more often." 

Sorata offered a sympathetic smile. "I'm sure she'll be okay, 'nee-chan." He said with more confidence than he felt. "You can't work as hard as the Princess does an' not need a day off once in a while." She still seemed unsure as she shifted against the doorway, folding her arms under her breasts. Before Sorata could find his gaze totally distracted by the movement, he cast a glance at the table and the house of cards. "Hey, 'nee-chan, you want to play a game with me?" 

The response was exactly as he'd expected; her bright grey eyes widened and she seemed at a loss for words. Sorata grinned. "C'mon, I'm sure you know a ton of good games." 

"But, you were using your cards..." 

Sorata had to pause in order to convince himself that his hearing was working correctly. Kishuu Arashi, eternally stern and businesslike, was actually **agreeing** to a game of cards with him? "I wasn't using them for anything important, really." He said quickly, not wanting to pass up this opportunity. Heaven only knew when something like this would come around again, and Sorata was not a person to question fortune of any kind. With a quick motion, he pulled out the bottom corner card and watched the whole structure topple in an instant. Gathering the cards up, he smiled up at her. "What shall we play, hmm?" He couldn't contain the devilish curl of his lips as the smile turned into a teasing smirk. "Strip poker?" 

Arashi's gaze turned cold and she spun on her heel, preparing to leave. "Wait, wait!!" He called, waving his hands. "Kidding, 'nee-chan," he assured her. "Just kidding!" In the name of all that was holy, by the time he died, Sorata would teach Arashi to have a sense of humor. As he watched her take everything at face value and totally misunderstand his intentions over and over again, he wondered how she lived. 

At his words, she paused, looking back over her shoulder at him. Sorata held up the deck. "I deal a mean game of Go Fish, 'nee-chan." He said, putting up his most charming and innocent smile. 

The pause had just begun lengthen into an uncomfortable one when she nodded. "All right." Purposefully, she pulled out a chair and slid into her place across the table from him. With a giddy smile, Sorata took his own seat and began shuffling the cards, every so often peeking up at her. Under his scrutiny, she shifted and pushed her hair back from her face. 

Chuckling, he dealt her eight cards, then gave the same number to himself; the rest of the cards were fanned out on the table between them. "Now, you know how to play, right?" 

He hid a smile at her slightly flustered expression as she picked up her cards. "Of course I do." 

Sorata held up his hands benignly. "Just checking, 'nee-chan." He assured her with a wink. "I thought you did, but I wouldn't want to offend you of you didn't know how to play." He picked up his own cards, laying a pair down gleefully. "You see my problem, right?" 

Her face softened slightly as she nodded once, directing more of her attention to her cards. She primly laid a few pairs down on her side of the table, then reached for cards from the pile to replace them. 

"Okay, 'nee-chan, you can go first because you're a lady." 

Arashi mulled over her cards, arranging them in whatever order she deemed most helpful to her strategy before answering. "Alright. Do you have any fives?" 

Grinning, Sorata handed one over. "Sure do!" 

She lay the pair of fives on the table. "Any jacks?" 

"Unfortunately, I do not." Sorata said with a belabored sigh. "Go fish, 'nee-chan." 

Arashi drew a card from the pile, her features schooling into a displeased expression as she looked at what was obviously not what she wanted. Sorata laid his cards down on the table, face down, and leaned forward conspiratorially and looking around in case someone should hear them. "You can draw again if you want, I won't look..." 

That elicited an even more unpleasant expression. "I am not going to cheat, Sorata-san." 

Turn on the charm, Sorata. Smile innocently and act like her dismissal wasn't irritating. "Okay," he chirped, looking over his cards. A ten, queen, ace... "Do you have a six?" He asked, and laughed happily when she offered the requested card from her hand. He placed the pair next to his others with a satisfied grin. "How about a king?" 

She shook her head, long black strands falling around her face. Sorata kept his eyes on her as he picked up his card, barely caring that it wasn't what he wanted. She was a handful and confusing and a hard nut to crack, but man was she pretty. It took him a moment to realize her full lips were actually saying something. Whoops. "What was that, 'nee-chan?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Blushing a little, she pursed her lips in his direction. "Do you have a nine?" 

Sorata shook his head. "Sorry..." 

She let out a soft, satisfied noise as she drew from the pile, setting down a couple of cards; Sorata nearly dropped his, was that a **smile** he'd seen? Oh, the gods were happy with him today, for whatever reason, and boy was he greatful. 

"Do you have any sevens?" 

Sorata scanned his hand and actually felt kind of bad that he didn't. "Nope, 'nee-chan. Go get some fishies." She scowled and picked a card. "Did you get one? He asked eagerly, but she shook her head, glaring at the cards in her hand as if her failure to receive the desired cards was somehow their fault. Fighting a grin, Sorata looked at his own hand. "Well, let's see.... do you have a kiss for me?" 

Her attention snapped back to him, and her face was wide and open with surprise. "Wh-what?!" She demanded, the faint pink on her cheeks making it clear she'd heard him. Sorata appeared not to notice. 

"I asked if you had a three." 

She regarded him with suspicion, then shook her head. "I don't." 

"Stupid game." Sorata dug through the pile, grumbling before he pulled out a three and his happiness was restored. "Hey wow, I love this game!" 

Even Arashi seemed a little amused at his tiny mood swing. The corners of her mouth quirked slightly. Sorata returned the gesture with a wide grin of his own. "Do you have a four?" He asked, and was even more pleased to have her hand him one. He couldn't believe his luck today! Down to only a few cards, he pondered his choice carefully. "How about a queen?" 

Arashi scanned her cards in disbelief and slid a card over to him. The look on her face clearly asked if he was either reading her mind or if he could see her cards. Naturally, he could do neither -- he was special, sure, but not **that** special. He picked up the card and regarded it with a short laugh. "Queen of Hearts!" He placed his third consecutive pair down on the table. He winked at her and she looked startled, turning her gaze away. "Ne, ne, d'you have any other hearts for me?" 

She almost looked hesitant to answer the question, as if she didn't want to know where he was going with it. "What?" 

"Do you have any other hearts for me?" He asked again, and this time his voice was gentle; he'd wiped all traces of teasing from it, removed any overbearing enthusiasm so that he didn't scare her. 

Her response was reward enough. Her pale face colored, a pretty rose blush spreading over her high cheekbones as her expression softened and looked almost wistful. He wished he'd had a camera, so he could capture how beautiful she was in an unguarded moment. 

Selecting a card from his hand, he leaned over and placed it in front of her, face down. Surprised, she turned it over to reveal the Ace of Hearts. A single heart, for her alone; a love that she didn't have to ask for, and maybe she didn't want, but he gave it freely anyway. 

"You win, 'nee-chan." 


End file.
